Never Say Never
by wewritetogether
Summary: For our third co-written FanFic, we decided on a story that would introduce a few new characters into our usual writing as we usually stick to writing about Peter and Chummy. We deliberated over a few characters and settled on introducing Shelagh and Angela. We hope you enjoy!


Chummy was all alone, she sat at the table, stitching a button back onto Peter's favourite shirt. Well, her favourite shirt of Peter's. She liked the way it framed his face, how it brought out the colour in his eyes and the fact it's the only shirt that she's bought him, that he actually likes. Moments later, the button was finally realigned, and Chummy now had nothing to do. The house was spotless. Tea was all chopped and prepared. The washing had been done and was now hanging in the garden; she just sat at the table, twiddling her thumbs.

'Idle time is the devil's play' Muttered Chummy. 

This was the time of the day she disliked the most. The house was completely silent, all apart from the faint sound of Edie snoozing in her crib upstairs. Times like these are when she would stupidly decide to try her hand at new hobbies. On the table next to her sewing box, was her latest form of entertainment. A yoyo. Or should I say, Freddie's yoyo. She stood in the kitchen testing ways of making it move. She gave up quite easily; maybe she should leave toys like this to the children and stick to her sewing.

'What do I do now?' She asked herself and anyone else who was listening but of course, there was no one listening. Chummy often spoke to herself, or the plants as she liked to say. Either way she felt it was very odd, it had gotten so bad, because she had now also began to answer herself.

'Oh, I don't know. What should you do now?'

She giggled nervously, knowing that she had to find something to pass the time. Not Yoyos and definitely not willow weaving, after the unfortunate incident with the stick of willow and Peter's eye. It was a night Chummy would most certainly like to forget. A thought popped into her mind, she wondered about other women in her position, one in particular. Shelagh. She ran to the telephone and dialled a number.

"Hello, Shelagh, its Camilla!" Chummy said excitedly.

"Good afternoon Chummy!" Shelagh replied, sounding equally as excited as Chummy, possibly because she and Chummy had not spoken for a few days. "I was just wondering if you want to meet up in an hour, we can take Edie and Angela to the park and have a catch up."

"Oh Chummy, I would LOVE that!" Shelagh said. She seemed to get even more excited than she had been when she answered the phone.

Whilst it was true she was happier than ever now she was married to Patrick and had her own little family, she very rarely ever got to go out because of looking after Angela and doing the house work, so snapping up this chance to catch up with one of her best friends was a must.

"We'll meet you in an hour" Chummy replied. The tone of her voice told Shelagh she was smiling.

After putting the phone down, Chummy packed away her sewing items and went upstairs to wake Edie. She found her sat up in her crib, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes. Edie lifted her little arms above her head waiting to be picked up by her mother, to which Chummy responded by doing just that. She picked up her little girl and kissed her on the forehead.

"Good afternoon little sleepy head," Chummy said softly "We're going out to see Auntie Shelagh and Angela soon. Are you ready? Shall we go feed the ducks?"

At 'ducks' Edie's eyes became large and even more sparkly than usual, she gave a coo that sounded much like 'yes' but, it wasn't quite there yet. Chummy gave her daughter one last gently squeeze, inhaling the smell of baby powder and washing soap before laying her down on the bed to dress her.

Chummy had previously chosen an outfit for young Edie, hoping that the day would provide her with an opportunity for her to wear it. It was a homemade white cotton dress with lace ruffles on the shoulders, hand stitched ducks and flowers adorned the two pockets. To match, a hand woven cardigan with pastel yellow buttons. Although Edie was taking only small steps, Chummy protected her feet with tiny white pumps finished with a yellow threaded stitch.

'Perfect!' Beamed Chummy as she stood Edie up in her cot.

Ducks had become a running theme, whenever making clothes for her young daughter she would always incorporate a duck on it someway. The love of ducks stretched further than clothing, the cot was lined with duck plush toys, all of course, handmade by the proud mother. Edie had her favourite, it had previously been Freddie's, who had nicknamed it 'Quack' as it was one of the first words that he perfected. Chummy lifted Edie from her cot and wedged her onto her hip. She grabbed the changing bag and made her way to the front. The pond was only a few minutes away so Chummy braved going without the pram. She stepped out into the street. The sun shone so special, rays of pure gold tickled the face of the two as they walk down the street. They turned the corner and quite literally bumped into Shelagh and Angela.

'We were ready sooner than I thought, so I decided to come here, then we can walk together!' Shelagh said, sounding stressed, she was desperately trying to put on a brave face, but Chummy knew something was troubling her.

The two walked down the street towards the park deep in conversation. Angela slowly tottering along beside Shelagh - her chubby toddler arm reaching up to hold her mother's finger for support - and Edie carefully balanced on Chummy's hip, precariously holding a bag of breadcrumbs that she demanded Chummy let her bring. Every time Chummy took a step, the bag of breadcrumbs would slap against her back. It was quite off putting.

The weather was once again lovely. The sky was an electric blue and there were few wispy clouds dancing around as the sun bore its rays down upon the foursome. Chummy wore the same skirt-suit she wore when she and Peter first returned from Africa to announce the news of her first pregnancy. The outfit consisted of a beige skirt and jacket with a shirt patterned almost paisley like with hues of blues, greens and yellows, teamed with her trusty old brown brogues. Although the outfit was suitable for the warmer weather, Chummy could still feel beads of perspiration forming on her forehead. 'Due to the fact I'm carrying an extra few pounds of weight on my right hip, I think' Chummy thought to herself.

Shelagh had dressed Angela in a navy blue dress; on it was blue, red, yellow and white flowers, she wore her favourite red shoes with white socks. The outfit had been finished off with two cute little pigtails tied with two red silk ribbons. Shelagh herself wore a yellow, calf  
length dress with faint white polka dots and her hair up in a neat bun.

It didn't take them long to reach the park where they headed for their favourite spot - or possibly Edie's favourite spot - the bench, just in the shade of a great big oak tree, right next to the duck pond. Chummy and Shelagh sat down next to each other on the bench, Angela and Edie were placed on a blanket just at their feet.

"Shelagh, are you okay?" Chummy blurted out. Shelagh looked away, distracting herself and desperately trying to find something else that she could talk about. "Shelagh?" Persisted Chummy. Shelagh took a deep breath and turned back towards her friend. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

Chummy wasn't convinced, she had been friends with Shelagh for a very long time, there were friends even before she became "Shelagh" when she was the shy and timid "Sister Bernadette"

"You seem very distracted, is everything okay with Patrick?" Chummy dug further into Shelagh's private life, a little too far for Shelagh, she stood up and walked off slightly. Angela followed. "Have you got the bread Edie? These ducks look very hungry!" Asked Shelagh as she turned ever so slightly, so Chummy couldn't see her watery eyes.

Edie looked to her mother, who stood and raised her to her feet. With a firm grip on her mother's hands, she started to totter towards Shelagh and Angela. Chummy loosed her grip, Edie carried on walking, then Chummy let go, giving Edie the chance at walking alone. She took a few steps but the realisation soon hit her and she toppled down to her knees. Chummy quickly picked her up and galloped over to Shelagh, stopping any chance of tears from the tot. Edie handed the bag to Shelagh who gave a handful to each tot. Chummy placed Edie next to Angela in order for her to throw the bread into the pond, but had to  
quickly pick her when a flock of ducks bombarded the four of them. Edie was in her element she clapped and giggled as the ducks pecked around Chummy and Shelagh's feet.

Whereas Edie was having a thoroughly amazing time, Angela seemed less keen on the ducks; she had wandered off into the shade of the tree, plonked herself down in the grass and was sat playing with leaves and daisy's. Chummy couldn't blame her, to be honest, because these ducks were even kind of scaring her! Edie was grabbing handfuls of crumbs  
out of the bag that Shelagh was holding and throwing them into the crowd that was gathering. Chummy giggled as she watched her throw the crumbs, then clap and giggle before attempting to make a quacking sound which came out more like "Wack".

"Edie," Chummy shouted over the noise of the ducks "Why don't you tell Auntie Shelagh what noise a duck makes?" she said whilst winking at Shelagh, she hoped this would cheer her up; she knew there was something wrong.

Edie turned to Shelagh and shouted "Wack wack wack!" like her mother had suggested before giggling. Shelagh managed to give a little laugh, but it was nowhere near as joyful as usual. Chummy could tell that she had forced it for the amusement of Edie, who she didn't want to upset. Chummy had tried to ignore it before, but she, simply couldn't let it  
slide once more.

"Shelagh?" Chummy quizzed "I know there's something on your mind, and I saw the watery eyes earlier, so please stop pretending now; you can't fool me." She finished, playfully bumping her friend on the shoulder before putting her arm around her. "Come on, talk to me."

Shelagh turned to Chummy - who could see her friend was internally putting up a fight against telling her what was wrong - she scowled before dropping her guard and collapsing onto the bench in tears. Chummy gave her a moment on her own whilst she checked that the two toddlers were safe and happy before sitting down next to her and pressing her handkerchief into Shelagh's hand. Shelagh dabbed her eyes and face before turning herself on the bench to face her friend.

'It's probably nothing!' She said as she blew her nose with the handkerchief.

'But it could be something!' Comforted Chummy. 'Keeping things bottled up will not make the situation any better, have you spoken to Patrick about it?'

Shelagh walked to the tree where the tots were still playing. They had found a pile of leaves, they sat there throwing handfuls of leaves up in the air like confetti.

'I haven't. I don't want to worry him.' Muttered Shelagh, as she sat back on the bench.

'Come on old chum, what's bothering you?' Asked Chummy, who was getting quite frustrated at the lack of trust Shelagh, seemed to have towards her. 'I'm not going to gossip about you, I am your friend, I want to help you.'

'I know, but I'm sure it's just nothing!' Shelagh added.

'Oh dearie me, please just tell me!' Chummy said in a raised voice.

'The doctors said it was impossible, or did they say it was unlikely?' Shelagh whispered to herself.

Chummy looked utterly confused at the ramblings of her peer. Shelagh was going through things in her mind, counting out on her fingers, checking through her diary but finally she blurted out; 'I think I might be pregnant!'

Chummy's face turn to shock, but soon softened into a smile of congratulations; she hugged her, squeezing her very tightly. 'Oh how wonderful!'

'But like I said, it could be nothing. The doctors told me it was unlikely I'd ever conceive naturally because of the scar tissue left behind from the TB. My body hasn't been the same since my illness, but recently there have been even more changes. Ones that lead to my earlier assumptions. For the past six weeks, I have been feeling rather queasy, sometimes being sick. My joints and other areas are becoming very tender and sore. Then my cycle which had corrected itself has become non-existent again.'

'You need to speak to Patrick, he will know what to do!' Smiled Chummy. 'I'm guessing that's the perks of having a Dr for a husband. All my husband can tell me is information about the Prostitution Law' 

They both chuckle together. Edie and Angela had grown tired of playing with the leaves and started to try and climb the tree; of course they weren't getting very far. The mothers picked up their daughters and set off for a stroll around the park.

'We've been through this before, a few months before this little bean came into our lives. I thought I was, but tests proved me wrong. I felt so awful getting Patrick's hopes up.' Spoke Shelagh ever so softly.

'You need to find out dear, you can't go on not knowing.' Reassured Chummy, who was currently trying to release Edie's fingers which had become tangled in her hair. Chummy fought with her daughters fingers; Edie thought it was a game.

"Edie, it's not funny" Chummy stifled a chuckle and put on a stern face as her daughter giggled away, tangling her fingers even more until Shelagh pitched in to help out.

"Oh Edie," Shelagh cooed "You are a cheeky one" she smiled as she tickled under Edie's chin once her five digits were free from her mother's hair.

"So," began Chummy, bringing them both back around to the reality of the subject of making Patrick aware of Shelagh's thoughts "Are you going to discuss it with him? I think you should; not only will he be able to discuss it further with you, but he'll also be able to emotionally support you. More than I can as a friend because I only see you every few days!"

The foursome were now unconsciously heading towards home; they knew it was around the time their families would be coming home. Chummy would be returning home to an excitable Freddie, who would rush around telling her his tales of school and trying to eat biscuits before his tea, whilst Peter would sit reading his paper after a long shift at  
work - Chummy was thankful Peter wasn't on a night shift tonight, she could do with the company. Shelagh and Angela would be returning home to possibly a brief evening with Patrick - depending on how many call outs he received tonight. The past few nights had been hectic, many locals needing the help of a doctor for their deliveries, Shelagh hoped that tonight he was able to stay home, tucked up in bed beside her as she too could do with the company and possibly a long discussion.

"I wouldn't know how to tell him, Chummy." Shelagh whimpered, desperately seeking help from her long-time friend. "It's not like I can just blurt it out over tea. There needs to be a time and a place but I don't know when that time is nor a suitable place."

Chummy could sense the tension and stress in Shelagh's voice. She longed to be a guardian angel, who could look down on and protect her. Or maybe, a wizard who could cast a spell and magically make it all better for her. Chummy knew her friend had not had it easy and she knew that Shelagh, of all people in Poplar, was one of the people who deserved to be a mother. There were plenty of large families around here, where mothers couldn't stop popping them out one after the other and here was Shelagh, the best mother to Angela she could have ever imagined, who could possibly never have a chance of conceiving naturally the way Mother Nature intended it to be. Chummy wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

"I think, you just need to sit him down and tell him Shelagh. After tea, when Angela and Tim are in bed, sit him down and just talk with him." Chummy felt terrible for being so harsh and forward, but she knew Shelagh would get nowhere with this if she was left to her own  
devices.

They walked in silence for a few moments, Shelagh was quite clearly thinking about what Chummy had proposed, and as they rounded the corner to Shelagh's street, Shelagh spoke: "Yes." she replied more softly than before.

"Maybe I shall do that; it will be the easiest way. Thank you Chummy; I really don't know what I would do without you. I really don't" Shelagh said, turning towards Chummy and giving her a big smile, her voice breaking a little as her eyes filled with tears. Her hands still  
clutched Chummy's special handkerchief as she brought it up to her face to dab away the droplets that were silently running down her face.

"Thank you." She wept, repeating her gratitude over and over.

Chummy's own throat began to catch at the sound of her friend thanking her over and over, this was the sound of someone who felt totally useless and clueless as to how her body would treat her and Chummy could tell she was fearful.

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket never let it fade away..." Chummy began to sing.

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket save it for a rainy day" Shelagh finished, with a teary smile, just as they reached her front door. She picked Angela up into her arms, in order for her, to say goodbye to Edie and vice versa. Then lastly, she said goodbye to Chummy. She unlocked the door and turned back to her close friend:

"Thank you again; I don't know what I'd do without you." and she unexpectedly gave Chummy the biggest hug you could have imagined, considering what a small, dainty little thing Shelagh was. "I shall ring you soon, with news of how everything went." She said before going inside and closing the door behind her, as if to try and shut out the fear and to keep herself hidden away in her own little bubble.

Chummy turned around to head for home, Edie started bouncing up and down in her arms, "What have you spotted?" Asked Chummy looking around to see what could have made her daughter so excited.

Suddenly she saw what was causing the commotion, Peter and Freddie were ambling along the opposite sidewalk. When Freddie saw his mother and sister he rushed away from his father towards them. Luckily the roads were empty, Peter gave chase and picked Freddie up. Giving him one of his stern but loving looks; "Freddie, you mustn't run into the road, cars might not see you coming, you could get hurt!"

Freddie cuddled into his father, they mounted the pavement just as a car came hurtling down the road, "I'm sorry Daddy!" Sobbed Freddie. Chummy slowly ruffled the hair of her son and smiled, "I told you daddy looked after us! Just be careful next time; daddy might not always be here!" Chummy kissed her son and then her husband as they pottered on home.

"Are we ready for tea then gang?"


End file.
